District attorney drops out of uncontested race

York County District Attorney Mark Lawrence will not seek a third term in office.

Lawrence said Monday he has decided not to seek reelection and will leave the District Attorney’s Office in December at the end of his second four-year term.

“I can put it in one word: family,” Lawrence said of his decision.

Lawrence, 52, said he would like to spend more time with his wife and daughters, who are 6 and 8. He said his decision came after his wife got a new job a year and a half after being laid off.

Lawrence said he also has “greater earning potential” in the private sector, though he has no specific plans for after he leaves office.

Lawrence said he feels he has made good progress while in office despite challenges from budget cuts. Some employees laid off last year are coming back to work, he said.

“There is some light at the end of the tunnel in terms of budget issues,” he said.

Lawrence said he is also proud he accomplished his goal to establish a domestic violence unit with grant money. That, coupled with an improving budget outlook, made him comfortable in his decision to leave, he said.

“It seemed like a good opportunity to move on,” Lawrence said. “I’m very proud of the quality of people who work in this office.”

Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn said her office will notify the York County Democratic Committee that it can hold a caucus to name a new candidate. The committee must notify the department of the name of the replacement by 5 p.m. July 26, she said.

There is no Republican candidate running for district attorney in York County.

Kennebunk man arrested in pharmacy robbery

A Kennebunk man was arrested after allegedly robbing the Biddeford CVS early Monday.

Clay Duplessis Jr., 25, of Kennebunk was arrested and charged with Class A robbery after he allegedly took cash and a large quantity of hydrocodone from the Elm Street pharmacy, according to Deputy Police Chief JoAnne Fisk.

Fisk said police received a phone call at 5:44 a.m. from the store manager, who reported he was working the store when someone rang the doorbell at the rear service entrance. The manager opened the door to find a man carrying a .22-caliber long rifle, she said.

Duplessis did not point the rifle at the store manager but he did push him aside, Fisk said. Duplessis allegedly told the manager he wanted drugs and demanded the manager open the pharmacy area. The manager complied with the request, according to police.

The manager then fled the building through the front door and called police, Fisk said. A short time later, a witness made contact with police on scene and described the suspect who had fled on foot. Another witness reported Duplessis’ location and he was arrested without incident near the scene, she said.

Biddeford Police on Monday also arrested a woman in connection with a June 25 robbery at the same store. Randa L. Nason, 24, formerly of Biddeford and currently living in Standish, was charged with Class B robbery for allegedly taking 400 oxycontin pills of various strengths from the pharmacy. Fisk said the drugs were valued at $3,000.

Nason was expected to be arraigned Tuesday and could face a sentence of five to 10 years, she said.

–Compiled by Gillian Graham